The Last Words of Jesus Week 3- “The Great Commission”

Big Idea: As His disciples, we have a responsibility to share Jesus’ message with others.

Primary Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Supporting Scripture: Colossians 1:15-17; Acts 1:9-11

CAPTURE (Why should students pay attention to and care about your message?)

It’s been said “Every good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end” but is that true?

Let’s look at some of the stories from a few of the best movies of all time.

The Lion King (1994)

Beginning: Mufasa dies, and Simba runs away.

Middle: Scar takes over, and things don’t go very well.

End: Simba returns to take his place as king.

Toy Story (1995)

Beginning: Andy gets Buzz Lightyear.

Middle: Buzz and Woody get lost.

End: Buzz and Woody find Andy without a moment to spare.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Beginning: Dorothy lands in Oz, killing the Wicked Witch of the East.

Middle: Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Lion follow the yellow brick road to meet the Wizard.

End: Dorothy clicks her heels three times and says, “There’s no place like home,” only to wake up at home and realize that it was all a dream.

Everything changed on May 2, 2008 with Marvel Studios movie Iron Man. 

Iron Man did have its own beginning, middle, and end, but it added another element.

Iron Man (2008)

Beginning: Tony Stark is injured and taken captive.

Middle: Tony builds the first Iron Man suit and escapes to start saving the day and fighting crime. 

End: Tony defeats his evil business partner and ultimately announces to the world, “I am Iron Man.”

Then after nearly 8 minutes of credits, Marvel introduced The Post-Credit Scene

Tony Stark walks into his home to meet a man named Nick Fury who says; “I’m here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative.”

This would ultimately launch a cinematic universe that so far has grossed over 30 BILLION DOLLARS and ensured that audiences would never leave during the credits ever again. 

You can argue that Marvel perfected the post-credit scene, but Iron Man wasn’t the first movie where the end wasn’t really the end. 

One of best ones might be from the 1979 movie, The Muppet Movie.

If you stayed all the way to the end of the credits, you would have been greeted by the Muppet named Animal, who “lovingly” said this:

Show “Go Home, Go Home, Bye Bye” Video

It’s great seeing Animal yelling at people who stayed in the theater, but what Marvel has done with the post-credit scene is show the audience even though the movie is over, there’s still something to look forward to.

SCRIPTURE (What does God’s Word say?)

Today, we’re wrapping up our series called The Last Words of Jesus.

Right before He died on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” 

A few days after His death and burial, the same women who were brave enough to witness His crucifixion, found Jesus and He was alive! He had conquered death and resurrected from the grave!

Over the course of the next forty days, Jesus appeared to His disciples (and even large crowds of people) numerous times to remind them of His teachings, to tell them about the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and to give them instructions on what to do next.

At the end of those forty days, Jesus met His disciples on a hillside in Galilee and shared His actual last words to them.

Jesus’ last words are found in Matthew 28:18-20.

Let’s start with verse 16 to better understand how the disciples were feeling in these moments.

16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted! (Matthew 28:16-17 – NLT)

These were people who spent up to three years of their lives following Jesus and witnessing the incredible miracles He performed.

Many of them saw Him die, some of them even heard Him say, “It is finished!” So, it makes sense that some of them were having a tough time accepting what they were seeing.

Yet verse 17 says, “When they saw him, they worshiped him.” 

Some doubted, but overall, they recognized who Jesus really was – He is God. 

After everyone has arrived, Jesus offers what we know of as His actual last words before ascending into Heaven.

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 – NLT)

INSIGHTS (What might this Scripture mean?)

1. Jesus has ultimate authority.

Jesus has already given all the proof that’s needed to make the claim that all authority has been given to Him.

Remember, this is someone who everyone in that crowd knew for certain to have died roughly six weeks earlier. 

The very fact that He was standing there and saying anything at all means that His claim to have absolute authority is at least worth the benefit of the doubt.

How can one person be given all authority like Jesus was claiming? 

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. 17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

(Colossians 1:15-17 – NLT)

Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth because He is God.

Because Jesus is God, it makes the instructions He gave incredibly important. 

2. Jesus’ instructions are clear.

After establishing His authority, Jesus went on to say this.

19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20 – NLT)

There’s a lot packed into a few short sentences, so to make sure we don’t miss any of the things that Jesus wants us to do, let’s call out the verbs Jesus used.

Go – We have to resolve to not get comfortable, not get complacent. And we can’t just assume that someone else will go if we don’t.

Make disciples – We need to be purposeful about seeking out people who don’t yet know about the Good News that Jesus has saved us from our sin.

Baptize – Instead of pointing out the differences between us and them, we must go out of our way to invite others to join us and to experience a life that only Jesus can offer.

Teach – As people who know the truth, we have a responsibility to share that truth with a world that desperately needs it.

Be sure – In the moments when we feel like making disciples is too difficult, too uncomfortable, or too much to handle, Jesus reminds us that we don’t have to do this alone. He has promised to be right there with us every step of the way.

Disciples express their allegiance to Jesus by obeying His Word:

James 1:22–25

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

“When what you know changes how you live, you will be blessed.”

3. We are the result of the disciples’ faithfulness.

The book of Acts records what happened after Jesus shared these final words with His disciples.

9 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” (Acts 1:9-11 – NLT)

What would have happened if everyone on that hillside simply went home instead of following Jesus’ instructions to “Go and make disciples of all the nations”? 

If those people had not followed Jesus’ command, Christianity would have died right then and there. But it didn’t. 

Instead, the people on the hillside that day told others, who then told others, who then told others.

The tradition of sharing the Good News that Jesus died for our sins and overcame death continues all the way to this very moment. 

Jesus has all authority and gives us the courage, strength and grace through the Holy Spirit to make disciples.  He started with a small group of people who were not influential and now the message has been spread throughout the globe, with over 2 billion Christians in the world today.

ACTION (How could we live this out?)

1. Know your own story.

Knowing your own story can be as simple as answering three questions.

What was my life like before I met Jesus? - Drunken partier who only cared about himself and seeking the next thrill that could never satisfy my soul.

How did I meet Jesus? Thanksgiving Weekend 2004 Jesus spoke to me through a SS teacher named Tony Allison. I was convicted of my sin that morning, turn away from that sin, turned to Christ and He made me whole.

What has my life been like since I met Jesus? I was completely changed that day, and I have joy and peace that I never had as I have followed His calling for 20+ years.

[Teacher note: Show your students how to share their story by briefly sharing your own story using the method above.]

Your story will most likely be different from mine and that’s part of what makes each of our stories so compelling. 

We are all different, yet our stories are all about meeting the same Jesus who loves us and changed our lives. 

2. Share your story with someone else.

This step is the easiest to talk ourselves out of. 

We might think people don’t want to hear our stories.

You are here because someone was brave enough to share.

The only to way to know how someone will react is to try.

This week, share your faith story (the one that describes before, how, and since you met Jesus) with at least one other person.

If that conversation goes well, invite them to join us at Worship Night next week.

3. Keep sharing.

Always be on the lookout for ways to share your stories with others. 

*Prayer*